Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“What?” Luke whispered.
Azroth smiled. “You don’t have to whisper. He won’t wake until I allow him to do so.”
“Oh. But…what you were saying…”
“It wasn’t a dream,” Azroth repeated. He paused to take a sip of his beverage. He motioned with the cup and saucer as if he were intending to place them on a nonexistent table, but as soon as he released them, they disappeared. “Those four fools who dared to attack you have been dealt with. They are still alive,” he tacked on as Luke drew in a breath. “Their memories don’t contain you or Matteo, but they are very vivid about the consequences of what happens when they harm others. They are not quite as sane—”
Luke held up a hand and squeezed his eyes shut. “Stop. I can’t. I…I don’t want to know. Even if they deserved it and more, I’ll still feel guilty. I don’t care if that makes me a coward.” He could all too easily imagine Azroth and the others turning the brains of his attackers to useless pudding. It wasn’t so much that they didn’t remember Luke. It was more likely that they didn’t recall their own names.
“You’re not a coward. You are a very good person, Luke. Never doubt that. Too good for the likes of us, but we don’t care. You are stuck with us.”
That didn’t feel like a bad thing. Luke had found a home and a strange friendship with these demons that he had no desire to lose, even after last night’s insanity. Maybe they were a little overprotective, but they also listened to him. And he liked that they were just as protective of Matteo.
“The reason I am here is Matteo.”
Shit. Maybe I’d spoken too soon.
Azroth grinned, and Luke glared at him.
“You need to stop reading my thoughts.”
The demon chuckled. “Then stop thinking so loudly.”
“Whatever.”
“We will never harm Matteo unless that is your wish. My concern is that he currently remembers last night. However, I can wipe his memory, making it so that he believes you and he fell asleep after making love. He won’t even remember those college students at all.”
Luke stared at his handsome face relaxed in peaceful sleep. It felt kinder to take away those horrible memories. Let their first date be unmarked by anything negative.
Except he wasn’t a fan of mucking around in Matteo’s mind. It wasn’t right to change his memories, even if it was done out of kindness.
And what about the demons? If Luke continued to live with the demons, it was only a matter of time until there was a slipup and Matteo encountered one of them or some other magical weirdness. Would he have to get Azroth to change his memory again?
Unless the demons intended to leave him now…
“The competition is over. Matteo and I are dating. We’re officially boyfriends. At least for now. What happens now? Do I need to move out? Will you wipe my memory of ever having met you?”
Azroth blinked several times, and his lips parted, but no sound slipped out. It seemed he hadn’t considered that yet. “Oh. Yes. I’d forgotten about that. The game. Well…” He licked his lips, appearing to stall for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. “Do you wish to move out and forget about us?”
“No,” Luke replied without a breath of hesitation.
Azroth relaxed in an instant. “Ah, well then, there’s no need for you to move out. You still have much more schooling to complete, and you are an excellent fit in our little home. We can find other ways to amuse ourselves.”
“With my help,” Luke added, bringing a smile to Azroth’s handsome face.
“Yes, of course. But Matteo?”
Luke sighed and gazed at the sleeping man. He adored Matteo and looked forward to dating him, learning everything he could about him. But the demons were going to continue to be part of his life. They’d become a strange family. Could he date Matteo and not share that part of himself with the man he was falling for? It wasn’t fair to either of them.
“I don’t want him to forget. I want to tell him about you and the other demons. You need to meet,” Luke said.
Azroth stared at him in shock yet again. “Oh…okay.”
“But…he may not take the news all that well. If he can’t adjust, can you tweak his memory then? Not hurt him, though.”
The demon waved a hand dismissively prior to rising from his chair. “Yes, yes. That’s fine. Not everyone can deal with the idea of demons as well as you have. We understand. And we promise, no matter what, we won’t ever harm Matteo…unless you say we can.” He strolled to the stairs. “I’ll let you both get another hour of sleep. You will awaken naturally with memories fully intact.”
Azroth had barely finished speaking when Luke flopped down onto his pillow and drifted off into blissful sleep.